Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address at the release of commemorative coin in honour of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal ji is no more with us. It is hard to believe. Due to his illness he was not visible in the political forum for 8-9 years, his activities in public life stopped and yet after such a long time, after such a generation gap in public life, the way the nation bade him farewell with such a great respect and honour that we can feel the colossus effect of his life's greatest penance. It is very rare.
The political analysts around the world perhaps will do a detailed analysis at some point of time that how such an organization was built up brick by brick on the basis of its principles and contribution of the lower level workers of an ordinary political party. He was not only struggling but also building the organization as well as attracting and influencing the common man with his ideology. In such a great country and democracy, on one hand was a party with 125 year old established political base and on the other was a new political party that had expanded and attained dominance over the country and in terms of an organization it became such a vast party in such a short span of time. It was led by Atal ji and his team in its initial years.
Concerted efforts had been made. The party worked hand-in-hand with the workers at the grass-root level in remote locations and tried to interact directly with the people. Atal ji's voice was not only the voice of Bharatiya Janta Party but also had become the voice of the hopes and aspirations of the ordinary people of our country for three-four decades. If Atal ji was speaking, it meant the entire nation was speaking; it meant that the nation is listening; it meant that the he was expressing the emotions of every person of the country. He not only attracted and influenced the people but also instilled faith in them. This confidence was not merely because of a group but because of hard-work of 5-6 decades. Today the condition of the political parties is such that they become impatient and frustrated if they stay out of power even for 2-5 years; whether the leader is at the Tehsil level or district level or state level or national level.
Could anyone ever imagine that someone could be in opposition for years and like an ascetic would keep on raising the voice of the nation? This is an extraordinary incident because there must have been instances when during political turmoil Atal ji was asked to join other political parties. They must have asked him – ‘come with us, we will make you the leader; we will give you this thing or that thing…’
I am guessing that such things might have happened. I am not sure but looking at the political picture, this is obvious. But that mettle was within him. He had associated his life with his ideas and principles. This is the reason why he never gave in to greed and temptations. When it came to testing whether the focus is expansion of the party or democracy or leadership, due to his farsightedness he prioritized democracy at the cost of his party. He merged the Jan Sangh that he had developed with his sweat and blood with Bharatiya Janta Party without any expectation just with the motive of keeping democracy alive.
He proved it. But when it came to criticizing the Janta Party in the name of principles; when it looked like a conspiracy was being hatched to destroy the relevance of the party at the cost of democracy and the country; at that time, he politely said - 'You choose your way. We cannot compromise with our values. We can die for the country but can never compromise with our principles'. He left and once again the seed of a new party, the lotus, was sown and today we can smell the fragrance of that lotus in every corner of the country. He had a long-term vision that darkness would fade away, the sun would rise and the lotus would blossom. A new party was taking birth and it was hardly a few hours!
Imagine the self-confidence over Jan Sangh, the faith over his ideas and hard work and also over the hard work of his workers. The faith was so strong that he could predict – “darkness would fade away, the sun would rise and the lotus would blossom”. You may call it a prophecy or a direction from within, but we all can experience it now.
I believe that diversity within our nation is something that enhances our dignity but at the same time it is our responsibility to maintain it. Political views and diversity in political leadership also does value addition to India's strength.
Only one kind of leadership, idea, mindset and the same way of speaking is not good for the country's diversity. Therefore, Atal ji was among those who were brought up with different ideologies and had dedicated their lives to the country, had provided leadership, had engaged in debates and discussions and had fought hard to defeat one another. Yet they lived for the country. This power of leadership also is a value addition to India's diversity. Atal ji was a multi-dimensional personality who enriched this diversity. He and many others like him should be given the same position in public and political life in India. This enriches the country and inspires the future generations. This allows the generations to think about and decide which path to choose.
And I believe that Atal ji's life will always inspire the future generations for public life, personal life, for developing a feeling of dedication towards the nation and working with the mantra of 'one life one mission'.
After his demise, tomorrow is Atal ji's first birth anniversary. Today i.e. a day before his birth anniversary the Indian government is issuing a commemorative Rs.100 coin to the people of the country. I don't believe that this Rs.100 coin is just a coin because Atal ji's life has been a coin that has remained in our hearts for the past 50 years and will continue to do so. We have made an attempt to make his life eternal by also manifesting it into a coin that will continue to always inspire us. This is a small effort to express our gratitude to Atal ji. Therefore, we feel extremely satisfied and happy.
Tomorrow, 25th December marks Atal ji's birth anniversary. We will observe that day by visiting 'Sadaiv Atal', the memorial located close to Rajghat. There we will have to spend each moment without Atal ji. At that time, this Memorial will keep us steadfast and remaining steadfast in public life is as important as remaining stable in someone's life. So this should be our resolution.
Once again, we will repeat this resolution there tomorrow, dedicate ourselves and will move ahead with the same unwavering belief, unfaltering dreams and the same mantra of 'charaivati charaivati' to do something positive for the welfare of the common man. With this spirit, I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for taking time out to attend this event. I hope that we leave no stone unturned to accomplish his as well as our desires. With this feeling, I salute Atal ji from the core of my heart. Thanks a lot!